The trailers for Hope Springs might lead you to believe it's a romantic comedy about a couple trying to jumpstart their sexless marriage but it causes more empathetic cringing than chuckles. Audiences will be drawn to Hope Springs by its stars Meryl Streep Tommy Lee Jones and Steve Carell and Streep's track record of pleasing summer movies like Julie &amp; Julia and Mamma Mia! that offer a respite from the blockbusters flooding theaters. Despite what its marketing might have you believe Hope Springs isn't a rom-com. The film is a disarming mixture of deeply intimate confessions by a married couple in the sanctuary of a therapist's office awkwardly honest attempts by that couple to physically reconnect and incredibly sappy scenes underscored by intrusive music. Boldly addressing female desire especially in older women it's hard not to give the movie extra credit for what writer Vanessa Taylor's script is trying to convey and its rarity in mainstream film. The ebb and flow of intimacy and desire in a long-term relationship is what drives Hope Springs and while there are plenty contrived moments and unresolved issues it is frankly surprising and surprisingly frank. It's a summer release from a major studio with high caliber stars aimed squarely at the generally underserved 50+ audience addressing the even more taboo topic of that audience's sex life.
Streep plays Kay a suburban wife who's deeply unsatisfied emotionally and sexually by her marriage to Arnold. Arnold who is played by Tommy Lee Jones as his craggiest sleeps in a separate bedroom now that their kids have left the nest; he's like a stone cold robot emotionally and physically and Kay tiptoes around trying to make him happy even as he ignores her every gesture. One of the most striking scenes in the movie is at the very beginning when Kay primps and fusses over her modest sleepwear in the hopes of seducing her husband. Streep makes it obvious that this isn't an easy thing for Kay; it takes all her guts to try and wordlessly suggest sex to her husband and when she's shot down it hurts to watch. This isn't a one time disconnect between their libidos; this is an ongoing problem that leaves Kay feeling insecure and undesirable.
After a foray into the self-help section of her bookstore Kay finds a therapist who holds week-long intensive couples' therapy sessions in Good Hope Springs ME and in a seemingly unprecedented moment of decisiveness she books a trip for the couple. Arnold of course is having none of it but he eventually comes along for the ride. That doesn't mean he's up for answering any of Dr. Feld's questions though. To be fair Dr. Feld (Carell) is asking the couple deeply intimate questions so if Arnold is comfortable foisting his amorous wife off with the excuse he had pork for lunch it's not so far-fetched to believe he'd be angry when Feld asks him about his fantasy life or masturbation habits.
Although Arnold gets a pass on some of his issues Kay is forthright about why and how she's dissatisfied. When Dr. Feld asks her if she masturbates she says she doesn't because it makes her too sad. Kay offers similar revelations; she's willing to bare it all to revive her marriage while Arnold thinks the fact that they're married at all means they must be happy. Carell's Dr. Feld is soothing and kind (even a bit bland) but it's always a pleasure to see him play it straight.
It's subversive for a mega-watt star to play a character that talks about how sexually unsatisfied she is and how unsexy she feels with the man she loves most in the world. The added taboo of Kay and Arnold's age adds that much more to the conversation. Kay and Arnold's attempts at intimacy are emotionally raw and hard to watch. Even when things get funny they're mostly awkward funny not ha-ha funny.
The rest of the movie is a little uneven wrapped up tightly and happily by the end. Their time spent soul-searching alone is a little cheesy especially when Kay ends up in a local bar where she gets a little dizzy on white wine while dishing about her problems to the bartender (Elisabeth Shue). Somewhere along the line what probably started out as a character study ended up as a wobbly drama that pushes some boundaries but eventually lets everyone off the emotional hook in favor of a smoothed-over happy ending. Still its disarming moments and performances almost balance it out. Although its target audience might be dismayed to find it's not as light-hearted as it would seem Hope Springs offers up the opportunity for discussion about sexuality and aging at a time when books and films like 50 Shades of Grey and Magic Mike are perking up similar conversations. In the end that's a good thing.

Last year director Garry Marshall hit upon a devilishly canny approach to the romantic comedy. A more polished refinement of Hal Needham’s experimental Cannonball Run method it called for assembling a gaggle of famous faces from across the demographic spectrum and pairing them with a shallow day-in-the-life narrative packed with gobs of gooey sentiment. A cynical strategy to be sure but one that paid handsome dividends: Valentine’s Day earned over $56 million in its opening weekend surpassing even the rosiest of forecasts. Buoyed by the success Marshall and his screenwriter Katherine Fugate hastily retreated to the bowels of Hades to apply their lucrative formula to another holiday historically steeped in romantic significance and New Year’s Eve was born.
Set in Manhattan on the last day of the year New Year’s Eve crams together a dozen or so canned scenarios into one bloated barely coherent mass of cliches. As before Marshall’s recruited an impressive ensemble of minions to do his unholy bidding including Oscar winners Hilary Swank Halle Berry and Robert De Niro the latter luxuriating in a role that didn’t require him to get out of bed. High School Musical’s Zac Efron is paired up with ‘80s icon Michelle Pfeiffer – giving teenage girls and their fathers something to bond over – while Glee’s Lea Michele meets cute with a pajama-clad Ashton Kutcher. There’s Katherine Heigl in a familiar jilted-fiance role Sarah Jessica Parker as a fretful single mom and Chris “Ludacris” Bridges as the most laid-back cop in New York. Sofia Vergara and Hector Elizondo mine for cheap laughs with thick accents – his fake and hers real – and Jessica Biel and Josh Duhamel deftly mix beauty with blandness. Fans of awful music will delight in the sounds of Jon Bon Jovi straining against type to play a relevant pop musician.
The task of interweaving the various storylines is too great for Marshall and New Year’s Eve bears the distinct scent and stain of an editing-room bloodbath with plot holes so gaping that not even the brightest of celebrity smiles can obscure them. But that’s not the point – it never was. You should know better than to expect logic from a film that portrays 24-year-old Efron and 46-year-old Parker as brother-and-sister without bothering to explain how such an apparent scientific miracle might have come to pass. Marshall wagers that by the time the ball drops and the film’s last melodramatic sequence has ended prior transgressions will be absolved and moviegoers will be content to bask in New Year's Eve's artificial glow. The gambit worked for Valentine's Day; this time he may not be so fortunate.

When Bethany Hamilton lost her arm to a shark while surfing, she probably thought her career was over. But with hard work and dedication she overcame all odds to become a champion once again. Her courageous story was expertly chronicled in Soul Surfer, an inspiring biopic from director Sean McNamara, based on Hamilton's own novel of the same name. Released in April to box office grosses totaling $41 million, Sony Pictures Entertainment has announced that you'll be able to take the film home in a Blu-ray/DVD Combo package or a regular DVD on August 2nd.
Read on below for the press release, which includes a rundown of the discs' special features and more!
CULVER CITY, CALIF. (June 6, 2011) – Soul Surfer, based on the remarkable true story of pro surfer Bethany Hamilton’s journey from tragedy to triumph, debuts on Blu-ray™/DVD Combo Pack and DVD August 2nd from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. The inspiring story of a girl’s comeback after a shark attack stars AnnaSophia Robb (Race to Witch Mountain), Academy Award® winner Helen Hunt (Best Actress, As Good As It Gets, 1997), Dennis Quaid (The Rookie, G.I. Joe: The Rise of the Cobra), Grammy Award® winner Carrie Underwood, Kevin Sorbo (TV's “Hercules: The Legendary Journeys”) and Lorraine Nicholson (Click). Bonus features include deleted scenes, the documentary “Heart of a Soul Surfer” and three behind-the-scenes featurettes, “The Making of Soul Surfer,” which explores the making of the film from the filmmaker’s perspective; “Becoming Bethany,” which shows how AnnaSophia Robb brought her character to life with the help of Bethany Hamilton; and “Surfing for the Screen: Inside the Action.” Soul Surfer will be available in the Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack for $38.99 SRP and on DVD for $30.99 SRP.
SYNOPSIS:
Soul Surfer is the incredible true story of teen surfer Bethany Hamilton, who lost her arm in a shark attack and courageously overcame all odds to become a champion again, through her sheer determination and unwavering faith. In the wake of this life-changing event that took her arm and nearly her life, Bethany’s feisty determination and steadfast beliefs spur her toward an adventurous comeback that gives her the grit to turn her loss into a gift for others.
Directed by Sean McNamara, the screenplay was by McNamara, Deborah Schwartz, Douglas Schwartz and Michael Berk. Soul Surfer is based on the book by Bethany Hamilton, Sheryl Berk and Rick Bundschuh. The screen story is by Sean McNamara, Deborah Schwartz, Douglas Schwartz, Michael Berk, Matt R. Allen, Caleb Wilson and Brad Gann.
DVD and Blu-ray Bonus Features Include:
§ Deleted Scenes
§ “The Making of Soul Surfer” Featurette
§ “Surfing for the Screen: Inside the Action” Featurette
§ “Becoming Bethany” Featurette
§ “Heart of a Soul Surfer” Documentary
Soul Surfer has a runtime of approximately 106 minutes and is rated PG for an intense accident sequence and some thematic material.
Source: Sony Pictures Entertainment

Lorraine Nicholson had to bond with Annasophia Robb in the biopic, and moviemaker Sean McNamara insisted the two girls spend time together before filming started.
The actress says, "They set us up on a friendship date. We went to a restaurant but I was really embarrassed because I was wearing the same dress as the waitresses.
"It really did work because we became really good friends and I see her all the time. That's one of the greatest things that has come out of this movie is my friendship with AnnaSophia."

The story of the most dominant racehorse of all time does not easily fit into the standard inspirational sports flick mold. Such films typically require its protagonists to overcome seemingly insurmountable obstacles be they competitive (Hoosiers) personal (The Natural) societal (Ali) or some combination of all three (Remember the Titans). But by all accounts the greatest challenges to Secretariat capturing of the 1973 Triple Crown were not rival horses — indeed Secretariat had no true rival — but a pair of slow starts and an abscess. And abscesses — apologies to dermatologists — simply aren’t all that effective as dramatic devices.
Lacking most of the vital ingredients of the traditional underdog movie formula Disney’s Secretariat is forced to synthesize them. Its screenplay written by Mike Rich and based rather loosely on the book Secretariat: The Making of a Champion by William Nack adopts a conventional save-the-farm framework: When her parents pass away within months of each other Denver housewife Penny Tweedy (Diane Lane) is advised to sell off her family’s Virginia-based Meadow Stables a beautiful but unprofitable horse-breeding enterprise in order to pay the onerous inheritance taxes levied by the state. But Penny her deceased father’s hackneyed horse-inspired counsel fresh in her mind (“You’ve got to run your own race ” etc. etc.) is loath to depart with such a cherished heirloom. So she concocts a scheme just idiotic enough to work betting the farm — literally — that her new horse Big Red in whom she has an almost Messianic faith will win the Kentucky Derby Preakness and Belmont races in succession.
Of course Big Red under the stage name Secretariat goes on to do just that but only after the film subjects us to nearly two hours of manufactured melodrama. Lane grasping all-too conspicuously for awards consideration treats every line as if it were the St. Crispin’s Day speech. Her character Penny exhibits a hair-trigger sensitivity to the sounds of skeptics and naysayers bursting forth with a polite rebuke and a stern sermon for anyone who dares doubt her crusade from the trash-talking owner of a rival horse to her annoyingly pragmatic husband (Dylan Walsh).
Lane isn’t alone in her grandiosity. The entire production reeks of it as director Randall Wallace lines the story with fetid chunks of overwrought Oscar bait like so many droppings in an untended stable even using Old Testament quotations and gospel music to endow Penny’s quest with biblical significance. John Malkovich is kind enough to inject some mirth into the heavy-handed proceedings hamming it up as Secretariat’s trainer Lucien Laurin a French-Canadian curmudgeon with an odd sartorial palette. It’s not enough however to alleviate the discomfort of witnessing the film's quasi-Sambo depiction of Secretariat’s famed groom Eddie Sweat (Nelsan Ellis) which reaches its cringeworthy zenith when Sweat runs out to the track on the eve of the Belmont Stakes and exclaims to no one in particular that “Big Red done eat his breakfast this mornin’!!!” Bagger Vance would be proud. Whether or not Ellis’ portrayal of Sweat’s cadence and mannerisms is accurate (and for all I know it may well be) the character is too thinly drawn to register as anything more than an amiable simple-minded servant.
Animal lovers will be happy to know that the horses in Secretariat come off looking far better than their human counterparts and not just because they’re alloted the best dialogue. In the training and racing sequences Wallace effectively conveys the strength and majesty of the fearsome animals drawing us into the action and creating a strong element of suspense even though the final result is a fait accompli. It's too bad the rest of the film never makes it out of the gate.

Dennis Quaid, Helen Hunt, AnnaSophia Robb and Carrie Underwood will star in the indie drama Soul Surfer, Variety reports.
The film, about teen surfing champ and shark attack survivor Bethany Hamilton, is directed by Sean McNamara. The project marks country music star Underwood's big-screen debut.
Based on Hamilton's autobiography, the biopic centers on the surf icon (Robb) who defied all odds to compete and win professional championships after losing her arm in a shark attack at age 13. Quaid and Hunt play Hamilton's parents. Underwood is a church youth leader.
McNamara, Deborah Schwartz, Douglas Schwartz and Michael Berk wrote the screenplay.
The film began shooting this week in Hawaii.
Mandalay Vision is producing alongside Brookwell McNamara Entertainment and Life's a Beach Entertainment. Affirm Films, a Sony Pictures Entertainment company, will distribute.
Story: http://power.networksolutions.com/index.html

The God of Legion secular Hollywood’s latest Biblically-inspired action flick is old-school an angry spiteful Almighty with a penchant for Old Testament theatrics. Fed up with humanity’s decadent warmongering ways He’s decided to pull the plug on the whole crazy experiment and start over from scratch.
Fortunately for us the God of Legion is also a rather lazy fellow. Instead of doing the apocalyptic work himself and wiping us out with a giant flood which worked perfectly well last time He opts to delegate the task to His army of angels — a questionable strategy that starts to fall apart when the archangel charged with leading the planned extermination Michael (Paul Bettany) refuses to comply.
Michael who unlike his boss still harbors affection for our sorry species abandons his post and descends to earth where inside the swollen belly of Charlie (Adrianne Palicki) an unwed mother-to-be working as a waitress in an out-of-the-way diner sits humanity’s lone hope for survival. Why is this particular baby so important? Is it the one destined to lead us to victory over Skynet? Heaven knows — Legion reveals little details its script devoid of actual scripture. What is clear is that God’s celestial hitmen want the kid whacked before it’s born.
But Michael won’t let humanity fall without a fight. Armed with a Waco-sized arsenal of assault weapons he hunkers down with the diner’s patrons a largely superfluous collection of thinly-sketched caricatures from various demographic groups led by Dennis Quaid as the diner’s grizzled owner Tyrese Gibson as a hip-hop hustler and Lucas Black as a simple-minded country boy.
Together they mount a heroic final stand against hordes of angels who’ve taken possession of “weak-willed” humans turning kindly old grandmas and mild-mannered ice cream vendors into snarling ravenous foul-mouthed beasts. They descend upon the ramshackle diner in a series of full-frontal assaults commanded by the archangel Gabriel (Kevin Durand) the George Pickett of End of Days generals.
Beneath its superficial religious facade Legion is really just a run-of-the-mill zombie flick a Biblical I Am Legend. Bettany an actor accustomed to smaller dramatic roles in films like A Beautiful Mind and The Da Vinci Code looks perfectly at ease in his first major action role wielding machine guns and bowie knives with equal aplomb. Conversely first-time director Scott Stewart a former visual effects artist does little to prove himself worthy of such a promotion serving up some impressive CGI work but not much else worthy of note.

WHAT IT’S ABOUT?
Claire is an attractive CIA operative and Ray is an M16 agent who simultaneously leave their Governmental spy activities in the dust to try and profit from a battle between two rival multi-national corporations both trying to launch a new product that will transform the world and make billions. Their goal is to secure the top-secret formula and get a patent before they are outsmarted. While their respective egomaniacal CEOs engage in an unending battle of wills and one-upmanship Claire and Ray start out conning and playing one another in a clever game of industrial espionage that is even more complicated due to their own long-term romantic relationship.
WHO’S IN IT?
Reuniting Closer co-stars Julia Roberts (as Claire) and Clive Owen (as Ray) turns out to be an inspired idea. They turn out to be the perfect pair oozing movie-star charm and electricity in this elaborate con-game that might have been the kind of thing Audrey Hepburn and Cary Grant might have made in the '60s (in fact they did in Charade). Roberts with that infamous hairstyle back the way we like it and Owen looking great in sunglasses prove they have what it takes to navigate us through this ultra-complex plot in which no one is sure who they can trust at any given moment. They play it all in high style and the wit just flows as the story skirts back and forth during the period of five years. The supporting cast is well-chosen with juicy roles for Tom Wilkinson and Paul Giamatti (out of their John Adams duds) as the two CEOs going for each other’s throats. Giamatti who sometimes has a tendency to overdo it is especially slimy here and great fun to watch.
WHAT’S GOOD?
Big-star studio movies today rarely take risks and often talk down to the audience but in Duplicity writer/director Tony Gilroy (Michael Clayton) has crafted a complicated con-comedy that requires complete attention at all times just to keep up with the dense plot’s twists and turns. It’s the cinematic equivalent of a New York Times crossword puzzle and Gilroy and his top-drawer production team deliver a glossy beautiful-looking film that’s easy on the eyes hitting locations from Dubai to Rome to New York City.
WHAT’S BAD?
Like any good puzzle it sometimes can be frustrating putting it all together and Gilroy’s habit of taking us back in time and then inching forward gets a little confusing even with the on-screen chyron pointing out where we are at any given moment. Stick with it though and you will be well-rewarded.
FAVORITE SCENE:
A scene near the end where the formula must be found scanned and faxed in a matter of minutes is sweat-inducing edge-of-your-seat moviemaking and it provides the ultimate opportunity for Roberts and Owen to take the “con” to the next level. Another where Roberts uses a thong to try and trick Owen into admitting an affair he never had is also priceless and gets right to the heart of the game-playing.
GO OUT AND GET POPCORN WHEN ...
Never. Stock up during the coming attractions. If you miss a moment of this entertaining romp you might never figure it all out.

Top Story: Ice Cube Takes xXx Reins
While it was forgone that Sony-based Revolution Studios would go ahead with a xXx sequel, no one could have foreseen it happening without star Vin Diesel and director Rob Cohen. But while Diesel and Cohen have decided to opt out of xXx2 (they will remain executive producers), the studio is hardly trading down with its spy actioner: Revolution has hired rapper Ice Cube as the star and Die Another Day helmer Lee Tamahori as director. According to Variety, Cube will play a new character who is recruited by the National Security Agency to become an "Triple X" agent, referring to a three-strikes rule the agency uses to give criminals the option of joining the crime-fighting force or going to prison for good. Tamahori is set to begin production on xXx2, which will be largely set in Washington, D.C., in summer 2004 for a 2005 bow. This is the second time Diesel and Cohen have opted out of a sequel to a franchise they launched, following Universal Pictures' The Fast and the Furious.
New York Film Fest Kicks Off
Clint Eastwood's psychological crime thriller Mystic River premiered Friday at the 41st New York Film Festival, which will feature 24 films and three special events during its 17-day run. According to Reuters, the highlights of the festival include The Fog of War, a cinematic dialogue between filmmaker Errol Morris and former Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara, Gus Van Sant 's Elephant, about high school gun violence, and the Nicole Kidman starrer Dogville, which shreds the myth of American small town innocence. The festival wraps Sunday, Oct. 19 with 21 Grams an English-language film directed by Mexican Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu starring Sean Penn, Naomi Watts and Benicio Del Toro.
Beyoncé Knowles' Dad Sells Music Company
Beyoncé Knowles' father has sold his music management company, Music World Entertainment, to the London-based music group Sanctuary for $10 million, the AP reports. The company has managed artists including Destiny's Child, Beyoncé, her sister Solange Knowles, Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams. Under the agreement, Mathew Knowles, who will stay headquartered in Houston, will work at Sanctuary for at least five years as president of its urban and gospel division and will continue to manage his roster of artists. In buying Music World Entertainment, Sanctuary brings to its management stable two of the biggest acts in pop music, Beyoncé and Destiny's Child.
Winery Features Jerry Garcia's Artwork
The memory of Grateful Dead singer Jerry Garcia will be immortalized with his own signature wine. The AP reports the Clos du Bois winery is launching J. Garcia wines, which will feature Garcia's artwork, including the abstract creations that have already adorned T-shirts and neckties, on its labels. The initial release consists of 50,000 cases of 2002 Sonoma County chardonnay, 2000 Sonoma County merlot and 2000 Sonoma County cabernet sauvignon, with a zinfandel due out later this year. Members of Garcia's estate say the singer enjoyed drinking Clos du Bois wine and approached the winery about putting his artwork on its bottles. Garcia, who died of a heart attack in 1995, attended high school near this Sonoma County town.
Role Call: Jonze and Kaufman Team Up for Horror, Bryan Barber To Helm Holy War
Director Spike Jonze and screenwriter Charlie Kaufman, the duo behind Adaptation, are channeling their talents to the horror genre. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Columbia Pictures is hammering out deals for the duo to collaborate on a closely guarded, untitled horror film, which they will also produce ... Music video director Bryan Barber, who helmed the OutKast clip "The Whole World," is in negotiations to make his feature directing debut with the church comedy Holy War for Artisan Entertainment. According to The Reporter, the project centers on a rivalry between two preaching cousins, which comes to a head when they start competing for the loyalty of a new female parishioner with a great singing voice.